Business journals honor 2007 Best Places to Work

That was the message Friday at the 2007 Best Places to Work awards event, held jointly by Springfield Business Journal and its sister publication, Joplin Tri-State Business.

More than 200 company representatives and their supporters attended the breakfast event at Oasis Convention Center. A special publication that profiles each honoree also debuted Friday. (View the publication by clicking here.) This was the first year for the event and second year for the publication.

A stringent scoring process narrowed a field of 91 applicants to 20 companies – five in each size category. Companies were evaluated for corporate culture, family friendliness, incentives and people development.

Scoring first in the five–24-employee category was Schmidt Associates PC in Carthage. The accounting and financial services firm offers annual bonuses, flextime and paid-time off, and owner Stan Schmidt says the company creates a work-life balance for its employees.

Joplin Area Chamber of Commerce took second in that category, Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Ozarks took third, and Home Builders Association of Greater Springfield and Hammer Collections tied for fourth.

Springfield’s Amberg Entertaiment received top honors in the 25–100 employee category. The party-hosting company attempts to make work fun for its employees, in addition to offering awards for productivity, new-parent time off and domestic partner benefits.

In second place in that category was The Insurancenter in Joplin, third place was Ollis & Co. in Springfield, fourth place was Environmental Works Inc. in Springfield, and fifth place was Kirkpatrick Phillips & Miller CPAs in Springfield.

Springfield Cardinals topped the 101–300 employee category, scoring first in three of the four scoring areas and taking first place overall. The fairly new company provides annual bonuses, tuition reimbursement and employee mentoring.

In that category, Cody’s Convenience Stores in Springfield and Community Bank and Trust in Neosho tied for second, Best Buy Inc. in Springfield took fourth and BancorpSouth in Springfield took fifth.

Ozark Center in Joplin nabbed first place in the 301+ employee category, scoring particularly high for its incentives and people development. An open atmosphere where ideas come from all employees and profit-sharing are among the perks at the behavioral health center.

General Mills in Joplin came in second place in that category, followed by Commerce Bank in Springfield in third place, Ozarks Technical Community College in fourth place and Crowder College in Neosho in fifth place.

Click here for more photos of today's event.[[In-content Ad]]